ONCE more the storm is howling, and half hid

Under this cradle-hood and coverlid

My child sleeps on. There is no obstacle

But Gregory's wood and one bare hill

Whereby the haystack- and roof-levelling wind.

Bred on the Atlantic, can be stayed;

And for an hour I have walked and prayed

Because of the great gloom that is in my mind.

--From "A Prayer for my Daughter" by William Butler Yeats

It seems like daughters are always a problem. I should know. I have a plethora of them. One never ceases to worry about them. Happy birthday to one of them.

I finished my new noir short story and have feedback from most of my Skirmish Team on it. I'll be submitting it next week after minor edits. I'm pleased to note that one team member has admitted she didn't care for the genre, but my stories are changing her mind about it.

Here's an excerpt from my first noir short story "Monica on my Mind" which you can find here:

She put the cigarette to her lips, and the end glowed like a brakeman’s lamp. I watched her eyes—two magnificent violet banners beckoning behind a veil of smoke. They weren’t like Monica’s eyes with the power of twin German 88s to pin a man in position, but they invited inspection and wonder.

“I expected you to be taller,” she said.

“So did my mother, but we all have our disappointments. What can I do for you?”

“I need your help, Mr. Kane. Someone’s trying to frame me.”

“Frame you for what?”

“Murder.”

“Who was killed?”

“No one—yet. My ex-boyfriend is going to be killed, and it’s going to look like I did it.”

In the meantime, I'm working on another Whip and Truth (Glen Sharp and Rufus Pizzini) wyrd western short story. I abandoned the first idea for something less exotic but easily as much fun. My writing playlist contains the Eagle's "Sorcerer's Journey," which is entirely a propos for the story.

I'm still reading The Men Who Lost America, as well as a couple other books on topics of personal interest. In my continuing habit of acquiring books faster than I can read them, I also picked up The Works of Julius Caesar.

Fun Fact:

For the fun fact, let me refer you again to an old blog post for some fun from the French and Indian war featuring George Washington and General Braddock's final appearance on his American tour.

I do want to do a giveaway drawing soon. I'm wondering whether one of my novels or an anthology featuring one of my stories would be appropriate. Let me know what you would like to have a shot at.

Don't forget, books 5 and 6 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series remain on sale at 99 cents each--Truth in Flames and Crisis in Fire and Snow.

What should the topic of the next flash fiction contest be? I'm thinking of something extremely short, maybe 50-100 words.

Check out these deals:

Free Sci-fi and Fantasy for March

This is a good one for the Ides of March - and good advice for every day: